"Questionmarks
have been raised over whether a tourist ship in the Artic sailed too
close to a glacier when large chunks of ice sheared off injuring 17
British tourists.

Fifty British tourists were on board the Aleksey Maryshev sightseeing vessel viewing ice formations when the accident occurred.

They were on a cruise booked through tour firm Discover the
World off the coast of the remote Svalbard Islands around 600 miles
from the North Pole.

The ship is reported to have listed violently in the sea off the islands.

Police on the islands have started investigating whether the
ship, operated by Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, had sailed too
close to the glacier, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Discover the World managing director Clive Stacey was quoted
as saying: "The captain has very strict instructions on how [close] he
is allowed to come to the glacier.

"We are at the moment investigating, as is the governor of
Spitsbergen, exactly what happened and, if that's the case, why he was
so close."

The operator, a member of the Association of Independent Tour
Operators which has been in operation for more than 23 years, issued a
statement, saying it was awaiting a detailed report from the ship
operators into the incident.

"What we do know is that the ship Aleksey Maryshev was near
to an iceshelf and a part of the glacier calved off," the statement
said. "We understand that some of the smaller pieces of ice and water
were washed onto the ship's deck and some of our passengers were
injured.

"Seven of our passengers were airlifted from the ship to
Longyearbyen Hospital. None of them have life-threatening injuries
although two are more seriously injured than the others - they are in a
stable condition and have been moved to Tromso Hospital in Norway. A
further three passengers have also been moved to Tromso together with
one of the crew members."

The company said that 10 further passengers were taken to
hospital to be treated for minor injuries and have returned to the
ship, which is docked in Longyearbyen.

The majority of passengers are due to fly home tomorrow (Saturday).

"Our absolute company priority is to concentrate on Discovery
the World's clients and their families and we are doing everything
possible to assist them," the statement said.